My top bridal shower tips

A bridal shower is something that many brides look forward to as they are celebrated and doted on before their wedding day. But there are a lot of moving pieces when coming to having a bridal shower. I wanted to walk you through the most common questions surrounding them and help your bridal shower planning go a lot smoother.

When should I have a bridal shower? Typically 2-6 months before your wedding.

Who is supposed to plan the bridal shower? Traditionally your maid of honor and bridesmaids are supposed to take the lead in planning this but now a days anyone really could take the lead. Even if you want to plan your own shower and delegate tasks to others that is totally appropriate. Or if your mother or mother in law wants to host it they can as well. Remember there are no rules!

Where should I have my bridal shower? Typically it is hosted at someone’s house but you can always rent out a local space to host the shower as well. Many brides have it at a restaurant and rent out one of the larger private rooms for it and have the restaurant cater the event.

What typically happens at bridal showers?  There is a lot of mingling, food, drinks, gifts, and games if you would like to have some.

What if I don’t want games played at my shower. What else can we do? I would suggest bringing in some type of entertainment for your guests. Whether it’s someone teaching you how to paint a picture, have a small cooking class, bar tending class, or some other fun activity. You want to keep your guests entertained and have something to do during the shower besides just eat and mingle with each other.

Who gets invited? For a bridal shower it is typically all women that attend the shower. Majority of the time the women that are invited are the ones that are also invited to the wedding. Yes, you can even invite your future in law side. I also say the more the merrier!

Can I have a unisex bridal shower? Of course you can. But then it is called a wedding shower and everyone is invited along with your fiancé.

When do I send out bridal shower invitations? You typically send the invites out 4-8 weeks before the shower and have everyone RSVP 2 weeks prior to the shower date so you can have a head count.

Do I need to have a registry for my bridal shower? I would highly recommend having a registry so your guests can purchase gifts that you actually want. Even if you don’t need much typically gifts are brought to the bridal shower and money and cards are brought to the wedding.

Can the bride have involvement in the planning of the bridal shower?  Absolutely! I would suggest always asking if the bride has a general idea of a theme she wants for the shower and what activities she wants for it as well. Most brides are very hands on with planning the bridal showers now.

Does it have to have a theme? No you don’t have to have a specific theme but it does make it really fun. You can plan games and food around the theme if you want to. Guests get really into it so it makes it a lot of fun.

Attire: If you are the bride you can wear whatever you want and not be overdressed at all. This is your bridal shower so have fun with it and go all out. As for the guests you can suggest they go along with the theme of the shower if you would like or you can have them show up in a dress to impress outfit.

Anything other advice: My one final tip would be if you have not had your hair and makeup trial for your wedding schedule it the day of your bridal shower. That way you can get a pretty good test run with it on and see how it lasts and if you want to change anything.  You can kill two birds with one stone and feel so pretty at your shower!

Remember this day is supposed to be all about you as a bride. So try to enjoy it as much as possible and really take it all in… You'll be a Mrs. very soon!!